² He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight,^(A) imitating the detestable practices of the nations that the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.^{(B) 3} He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed^(C) and reestablished the altars for Baal. He made an Asherah,^(D) as King Ahab of Israel had done;^(E) he also bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky^(F) and served them. ⁴ He built altars in the Lord’s temple,^(G) where the Lord had said, “Jerusalem is where I will put my name.”^{(H) 5} He built altars to all the stars in the sky^(I) in both courtyards of the Lord’s temple.^{(J) 6} He sacrificed his son in the fire,^[a](K) practiced witchcraft and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists.^(L) He did a huge amount of evil in the Lord’s sight, angering him.^(M)

⁷ Manasseh set up the carved image of Asherah, which he made, in the temple that the Lord had spoken about to David and his son Solomon: “I will establish my name forever in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.^(N)

¹¹ “Since King Manasseh of Judah has committed all these detestable acts^(A)—worse evil than the Amorites^(B) who preceded him had done—and by means of his idols has also caused Judah to sin,

¹⁶ Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem with it from one end to another.^(A) This was in addition to his sin that he caused Judah to commit, so that they did what was evil in the Lord’s sight.